WHEAT World markets soften World wheat markets have sunk lower during the week, which has prompted Egypt to tender for additional supplies seeking lower levels. Markets continue to wait for trade flow data following the protracted US government shutdown. EU wheat has mirrored the wider markets and fell to two month lows on Thursday but is now one o...

  UK – Market remains flat despite supported global markets UK feed wheat has traded in a narrow range for a month now (£5/t) and while our domestic market is flat, it hides what is happening around the globe. Extreme weather and significant export sales have supported global markets but any follow-on to the UK market has been hampered by a ri...

WHEAT Slow UK trade The domestic wheat market slowed to a crawl this week. A lack of fresh news, combined with sterling strength, saw both old and new crop prices slip lower.Despite Defra's estimate showing a surplus on the UK balance sheet, the old crop premium to new crop remains resolute. Spot feed wheat is trading at £25/t above harvest prices....

Over the 26 year lifespan of SOYL, we have exhibited at many agricultural shows and events. When you have a mission to 'Make Every Hectare Count', getting out and meeting as many growers around the world as possible is vital. We kicked off 2019 with a trip to Lamma, the UK's largest agricultural and machinery show. For the first time the event was ...

UK grain prices are flat as market forces work against one another UK wheat values remain stuck in a narrow range as two major factors continue to cancel each other out. Sterling has firmed from £1.11 to £1.15 versus the euro since 10 th January and this should have caused a loss for UK wheat values. Instead, EU markets have been given a lift by co...

Over the summer, we sat down to discuss and plan our series of winter meetings which we carry out across the country each year. Historically, these have been referred to as our 'winter workshops' and have encompassed a range of information about our precision farming services. As a slight change from the norm, this winter has seen the introduction ...

WHEAT Firm pound pushes old crop prices lower Brexit uncertainty continues to fuel huge shifts in the value of the pound. This week the pound appreciated significantly against a host of other currencies reaching 1.16 against the Euro, a level which was last seen in May 2017. Domestic demand for old crop remains strong, but if the UK has an exportab...

The benefits of using satellite imagery go way beyond the yield improvements that have been seen from variable rate nitrogen applications. Some of these advantages will be picked up in more detail by other blogs but to start, I thought it would be useful to share other opportunities for the use of satellite imagery and the added value that can be d...

As we enter a period of change in agriculture, don't let niggles stop you acting to seize this huge opportunity. Recently, my wife and I had the opportunity to go out for a meal unencumbered by children. As my mind works in rather convoluted ways, our time at the restaurant had me thinking about the parallels between what we experienced and, oddly,...

World markets were quiet on Monday as US trade closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day. This coupled with the continued government shutdown in the US means that there is still no January report from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). This makes for slim reading of key export data which has significant influence over the old crop market at this t...

WHEAT Lost opportunity Domestic wheat markets have given back all of this month's gains during this week. Milling markets have also softened, with notable sellers pressurising the premiums by around £2/t versus feed as markets transit from being bid for weeks to offered. It seems that political uncertainty continues which is putting people off maki...

The use of phosphate fertilisers has always caused more confusion than other nutrients.Choice of fertiliser to give the best long and short term availability is often a topic we are asked by growers. Different forms of phosphate (such as orthophosphate or dicalcium phosphate) and the complex relationship that phosphate has with calcium, iron and pH...

WHEAT International trade This week we have seen significant international trade, with North African countries making sizeable wheat purchases for delivery during February and March. Initially, Algeria confirmed they were buying 550,000 tonnes of optional origin wheat. This lifted European prices, as the French have supplied over 80% of Algerian im...

Nearly everyone is talking about cover crops. Soil health and ways to preserve it have been prominent topics at recent farmer meetings that I've spoken at and the area of cover crops planted post-harvest has significantly increased. This isn't really surprising given the growing focus on water quality and last January's change in Ecological Focus A...

WHEAT Global markets US and EU markets started the new year trading firmer, led by stronger US wheat prices which are now able to compete against cheaper origins with the prospect of increasing exports. However, the Russian Agricultural Ministry have increased wheat production figures by two million tonnes to 72 million. This means that despite hig...

Happy New Year from the SOYL team; I can't quite believe that 12 months have passed since I last wrote a blog reviewing the year but here we are. Our mission to help growers Make Every Hectare Count stepped up its pace in 2018 – SOYL advised, helped and supported more farmer customers than ever before. A year punctuated by events 2018 started with ...

Earlier this month I attended Natural England's RBAPS (known formerly as 'Payment by Results') conference which took place in Norfolk, not far from the Kings' office at Diss. With Brexit looming, the conference was especially topical. The Rt Hon the Lord Blencathra, deputy chair of Natural England, addressed all delegates in the morning and explain...

This blog was first featured as an article in the December issue of Three Counties Farmer : ​ By my own admission, I don't have the best track record of sticking to New Year's resolutions. Whilst they are (in theory) usually easy to achieve, they aren't necessarily life changing and it would be a fairly safe bet to say that, by April, I'll have bro...

WHEAT World wheat prices move higher A number of factors have helped send world wheat prices higher this week. Increasing optimism over the improving US/China trade situation provided an initial tonic as US weekly export sales hit a season high of 754,000 tonnes.The fast pace of Russian wheat exports is also making an impact with supplies proving h...

This article was first published in the December issue of Three Counties Farmer .  As soon as the autumn drilling and harvest period came to a satisfying conclusion, it seems thoughts and potential decisions immediately moved to the spring. No doubt the British weather will serve up some extremities in the coming months but, in the meantime, b...